DeBary considers 'bear-proof' trash cans

Tuesday

Dec 18, 2012 at 7:09 PMDec 18, 2012 at 8:53 PM

The success of a pilot project involving bear-proof waste bins in Glenwood has encouraged a state biologist to expand the concept to other communities.

DEBARY — With complaints about Florida black bears on the rise, the city is looking into a program that could make special trash cans available to residents at a reduced cost. The success of a pilot project involving bear-proof waste bins in Glenwood, an unincorporated community west of DeLand, has encouraged a state wildlife biologist to expand the concept to other communities. After hearing a presentation earlier this month, DeBary City Manager Dan Parrott said he is working on a proposal for the City Council to consider in coming months. One thousand or so bears live in the region, mostly concentrated in the Ocala National Forest and in the woods that run south along the St. Johns River, including areas of west Volusia County, said Mike Orlando, assistant bear program coordinator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The bears — who adhere to a hibernation cycle in which they fatten up in the autumn months, even in sunny Florida — have been hungry. Instead of hitting a drive-through, Florida black bears overturn trash cans and tear open plastic bags in search of their fast-food fix. "When you're looking for 10,000 calories a day, it's a lot easier to go through someone's garbage can than to eat 5,000 berries a day," Orlando said. With the intersection of bears and humans becoming more common, Orlando and his colleagues at the wildlife commission are getting more and more calls. He expects the figure statewide this year will be a record, topping 5,000 — with about 3,500 of those calls in the 11-county Northeast Region that Orlando covers. About 60 percent of those calls are connected to bears digging into trash, Orlando said. Last year, using funds from the Conserve Wildlife license plate and working with trash hauler Emerald Waste Services and Volusia County, Orlando was able to purchase about 125 bear-proof trash cans for about $175 each. The cans were placed in an area of Glenwood where about 75 percent of the homes had been seeing bear problems, Orlando said. After switching the homes to the bear-proof cans, Orlando said the percentage of homes reporting continued bear problems dropped to about 5. Another program in Ocala, where bear-proof cans are part of the hauling fee all homeowners pay, has also proved to be successful. "These things are like gold," he said. "Nobody wants to get rid of them." To make the program work, Orlando said the waste hauler has to agree, as bear-proof cans are not as easy to empty as the standard waste bins. Haulers have to dump a can within five seconds or the company starts losing money, he said. But some cans can be designed to be easily opened by humans. DeBary Mayor Bob Garcia said he has routinely gotten calls about bear complaints, particularly along West Highbanks Road, which runs all the way to the St. Johns River. "It is something worthwhile," Garcia said. "I would have a roundtable with the residents impacted and ... see how many want to get that waste can." Vice Mayor Chris Carson sounded a bit skeptical, saying he has spoken with people who have purchased bear-proof cans in retail stores. "It doesn't matter how good the trash can is," he said. "The bear is going to get into it if it wants. It will jump on it, weaken it. It doesn't matter if it's locked." Carson said the cost of bear-proof cans is also prohibitive. They are priced in the $150-250 range. Parrott said he intends to meet with Orlando and come up with a workable option for the council to consider. The city's waste hauler, Waste Pro, seems to be "willing to work with us," Parrott said. "I don't get a sense that the council feels it's serious enough to mandate (residents' purchase of the cans)," he said. But an opt-in program might be worthwhile in DeBary, he added.

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